Electromagnet recording appliance.



No. 807,708. PATENTED DEC. 19, 1905. H. A. AMMANN L A. D. CAMPBELL.

ELBCTROMAGNET RECORDING APPLIANGE. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 17,1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

m @m my No. 807,708. I PATENTED DEG. 19, 1905.

' H. A. AMMANN & A. D. CAMPBELL.

BLEGTROMAGNBT RECORDING APPLIANCE.

APPLICATION FILED FE1?. 17,1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTORS l /nmawz/ bell/ No. 807,708. PATBNTBD DB0. 10, 1005. H. A. AMMANN 0 A. D. CAMPBELL.

BLBCTROMAGNBT RECORDING APPLIANCB.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 17,1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

, UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY A. AMMANN AND ALBERT D. CAMPBELL, OF SPOKANE, VASHINGTON.

ELECTRONIAGNET RECORDING APPLIANCE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 19, 1905.

Application filed February 17, 1905. Serial No. 246.171.

Be it known that we, HENRY A. AMMANN and ALBERT D. CAMPBELL, citizens of the United States, residing at Spokane, in the county of Spokane and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electroinagnet RecordingAppliances; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it apper tains to make and use the same.

This invention, which relates to recording appliances, has for its object the production of an improved central-oflice annunciator and recorder adapted for use in conjunction with signaling devices along the line of road-for example, of the type for which we have obtained Letters Patents Nos. 736,345 and 737,053, and for which our application for patent, Serial No. 226,811, is now pending, to obtain automatically the recording on suitable sheets of the .exact times electric cars or trains pass under said signaling devices, whereby to compel the operators to maintain schedule time and to give notice at the office in the event of disorder of any of said devices.

The nature of the present invention will be readily comprehended, reference being had to the following detailed description and to the accompanying drawings, illustrating the appliance in its preferred form of embodiment, it being understood that various changes and modifications maybe made therein without exceeding the scope of the concluding claims.

In the drawings, Figure l isa side elevation of a recorder embodying the invention.. Fig. A2 is a top plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is an end view of the saine. Fig. 4 is a detail view of one of the cylinder-heads. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail view of one of the recordinghammers and its operating means. Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of the shaft and its connections.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, 1 designatesthe base of the appliance which forms the support for all of the parts. At one end of the base is a casing 2, containing clockwork mechanism, to which is connect- I ed, by a suitable coupling 3, a shaft 4, having its opposite end journaled in a bearing in an upright 5, erected at the other end of the base. 0n the shaft is the recording-cylinder 6, having heads 7 7, preferably of wheel form and provided at their hubs S with a shaftopening and with a feather-key 9, fitting a keyway extending the length of the shaft. The cylinder is therefore keyed to the shaft to rotate therewith, but is slidable thereon to allow of its position boing shifted, the means for compelling longitudinal movement consisting of screw-threaded sleeve 10, fixed to the cylinder and encircling the shaft, said sleeve being engaged by a tooth 11, vertically movable in a post 12, the raised position of the tooth being maintained by a set screw 13. The" cylinder is rotated by thc clockwork mechanism and during such rotation is moved to the left by the engagement of the screw-threads and tooth. The cylinder is suitably equipped with a sheet or the like, having thereon lines and figures denoting the hours and fractions thereof, and the extent of its longitudinal movement may determine the length of a day, or twenty-four hours. The cylinder is reset at the end of the stated period by lowering the tooth out of engagement with the screw-threads, whereupon the cylinder is moved to the right by hand, a spring or other buffer 'la being employed to relieve the parts from shock if the cylinder is retracted forcibly.

At one side of the cylinder is a frame 15, suitably cross-braced and on which are fastened brackets 16. Each bracket carries a pair of electromagnets 17 18 the coils of which are connected together by a wire 19. A wire 2O leads from a number of signaling devices to the coils of each magnet 17, and a ground-wire 2l leads from the coils of each magnet 1S.

22 22 are hammers or strikers each fastened to a bracket extension 23 by a flat spring 24, preferably of brass. The hammer or striker carries a soft-iron armature 25, which may, as shown, have its ends secured to the spring and hammer-arm. The hammer has at its free end a depending point 26, which is normally elevated above the surface of the record-cylinder by the action of the spring, and in this position the armature is out of contact with the poles of the magnets. The points of the strikers are formed IOO vices are provided each consisting of an inkcarrying plate 27, pivoted on a rod 28, supported at its ends in an extenison 29`of the bracket 5 and on the clock-casing. The plates 27 are each confined between collars 30 on the rod and are positioned to bring their inner ends into contact with the elevated points, the outer ends being weighted, as shown. In the striking or printing movement of the hammers the inking-plates are rocked to the position shown in dotted lines, and thus the contact between the plates and points is maintained at all times.

In operation as a car or train passes under a signal device an impulse of electricity is sent through the pair of magnets 17 18, corresponding to the lines and said magnets being-energized the armature is attracted, and the hammer is forcibly depressed against the action of its spring to make the impression on the sheet. It will be understood that the cylinder is rotated constantly and that with said rotative movement it has a longitudinal movement, whereby the surface of the sheet with reference to the points is constantly changing. The appliance is designed for use in connection with a number of different carlines-for example, twenty-and there will be a pair of magnets for each line. The signal devices will have distinguishing signals. lf a car or train operating on any line is not recorded through the medium of the signal devices, the office can quickly send to the seat of the trouble, and, likewise, if no signals are sent in from a disordered device the oflice is at once apprised of the difficulty. By the use of the appliance also the train or car operators are compelled to run as close as possible on schedule time, knowing that the office is constantly informed as to their time of running and the line over which they are operating.

We claim as our invention- 1. In an appliance of the character described, the combination of a rotatable shaft, a record-receiving cylinder slidable thereon but keyed to rotate therewith, means for rotating said shaft, a screw-threaded sleeve encircling the shaft and fixed to one end of the cylinder, a tooth adjustable into and out of engagement with the threads of said sleeve, a support adjacent to and parallel with the cylinder, a plurality of pairs of eleetromagnets on said support, and a plurality of cylinderimpressing elements each consisting of a spring-retracting swinging arm connected at one end with the support and having at its free end an impressing device, and having intermediately an armature at a pair of magnets.

2. In an appliance of the character described, the combination of a rotatable shaft, a record-receiving cylinder slidable thereon but keyed to rotate therewith, means for rotating said shaft, a screw-threaded sleeve encircling the shaft and fixed to one end of the cylinder, a tooth adjustable into and out of engagement with the threads of said sleeve, a buffer at the other end of the cylinder, a support adjacent to and parallel with the cylinder, a plurality of pairs of electrom agnets on said support, and a plurality of cylinder-impressing elements each consisting of a springretracting swinging arm connected at one end with the support and having at its free end an impressing device, and having intermediately an armature at a pair of magnets.

3. In an appliance of the character described, the combination of a rotatable shaft, a record-receiving cylinder slidable thereon but keyed to rotate therewith, means for rotating said shaft, a screw-threaded sleeve encircling the shaft and fixed to one end of the cylinder, a tooth adjustable into and out of engagement with the threads of said sleeve, a support adjacent to and parallel with the cylinder, a plurality ofpairs of electromagnets on said support, and a plurality of cylinderimpressing elements each consisting of a spring-retracting swinging arm connected at one end with the support and having at its free end an impressing device, and having intermediately an armature at a pair of magnets, a shaft parallel to the aforesaid shaft, inking-plates each pivoted intermediately on the second-named shaft and having one end weighted and the other end in contact with one of said impressing devices.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY A. AMMANN. ALBERT D. CAMPBELL.

Witnesses i A. WV. VVITHERsPooN, E. STANDLEY. 

